Top seeds Calvert Hall and McDonogh prevail in A Conference lacrosse semifinals

Calvert Hall and McDonogh have defined MIAA A lacrosse the last 10 years. The teams setup an epic championship date with victories Tuesday in Annapolis. 

The Eagles outlasted Archbishop Spalding, 16-12, in a semifinal at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium while Calvert Hall got past Loyola, 7-6, in the other semifinal. 

Friday night at 8 at Stevenson University’s Mustang Stadium, the MIAA’s top two seeds in will decide who’s best in arguably the nation’s premier boys high school lacrosse league. 

“It’s definitely been a different path this year,” Calvert Hall midfielder Matt Schoonmaker, “but our guys are ready for the moment.”

The top-seeded and defending champ Cardinals (12-4) are back in the finals, thanks to the junior midfielder who scored two of his three goals in the pivotal final 12 minutes. The University of Richmond commit slipped free inside in the box and converted, giving The Hall a 6-5 lead with eight minutes left in regulation.

With 5:32 to play, Schoonmaker fended off a defender towards a goal and placed a left handed shot inside the post. 

“He did a great job…it’s always somebody different for us each and every game,” said Calvert Hall coach Bryan Kelly.

Jack Williams added two goals for the Cardinals, who trailed 5-4 in the third quarter. Caleb Kelly finished with a goal and an assist, and goalie Nick Neavin stopped Loyola longstick defender Tyler McCottry’s shot with 20 seconds left in regulation.

Loyola (9-8), which received a goal and two assists from Matthew Kehring, battled back from a 4-2 deficit to take the lead on Daniel Lally’s unassisted strike with 6:09 remaining in the third quarter.

Down 7-5, the Dons remained resilient. Cole Mosier ripped a shot from about seven-yards into the corner with 29.3 seconds left in regulation. McCottry snagged the ball out of the air on the ensuing face-off, but Neavin dropped low to deflect his shot. 

Loyola second-year coach Will Haus had nothing but praise for his squad - especially 24 seniors - which overcame several injuries including leading scorer Bennett Cook in Friday’s quarterfinal win over Severn. 

“There’s always adversity throughout a season, ups-and-downs…I think this group played hard,” said Haus. “We would like a couple of plays back, but that’s part of the game and they continued to fight to the end.”

McDonogh watched Spalding absorb several furious and impressive scoring haymakers in the nightcap. In the end, the second-seeded Eagles punched their ticket to a record fifth straight MIAA A championship game. 

“It’s outrageous,” said McDonogh senior attack Hunter Metz. “This is the best conference in high school lacrosse and doing it with these guys is so awesome.”

The Eagles (13-3) lit up Navy’s scoreboord with the most goals in a MIAA A final four match since 2019 (Calvert Hall defeated St. Mary’s, 18-4) as Metz, who will play for Notre Dame next spring, had six goals and two assists.

Junior T.C. Goodman added two goals and two assists, and Ben Mather had two goals and an assist. Eight players scored for McDonogh, which tallied five of the game’s first six goals and scored seven of nine to start the second half.

McDonogh won 21 face-off possessions with senior specialist Ciaran Sweeney grabbing six clean wins. 

“Man, our kids just battled tonight. We really rested on our seniors, Ciaran was unbelievable at the faceoff X, and then you saw what Hunter did, just a freak of nature,” McDonogh first-year Travis Holmes said. “These kids just do everything we ask them to do as a coaching staff, never bat an eye, and, to be honest, at halftime, not a single kid was in doubt of winning the game.”

There was some anxiety as Spalding, down 14-8 with 6:21 left in the game, trailed just 14-12 after Adam Schwab’s unassisted tally with 1:59 left in regulation. Metz restored order, beating Cavalier double-teams for two empty-net goals.

Brady Mollot, who will play for Maryland next spring, was again the catalyst for Spalding (11-7) with two goals and five assists Tuesday. Colby Evans had a hat trick and an assist. 

The Cavaliers lost, 12-11, at McDonogh during the regular season. 

While tipping his hat to Eagles, Spalding coach Evan Hockey lauded his team’s tenacity. 

“They’re a great team. They’re great on offense, good on defense, face off well — they don’t have many holes, and they outplayed us tonight,” said Hockel, whose team lost in last year’s final to Calvert Hall in the first overtime match in MIAA A history, has reached at least the semifinal round in four of the last six seasons (lost in 2021 final to Boys’ Latin)…“I’m really proud of our players — they would never give up ever. They didn’t quit today, and I’m proud of them.”

In a Game of Throne-esque showdown, McDonogh and Calvert Hall will decide the 2026 MIAA A championship Friday night. Calvert Hall owns a record six MIAA A crowns including the first three-peat (2017-2019).

McDonogh has four crowns (five overall) since 2016, including a back-to-back-to-back (2022-2024). The Eagles’ bid for four in a row was ended by Calvert Hall in last year’s semifinals at Navy. 

The Cardinals defeated McDonogh, 14-13, on Apr. 10 in Towson. 

Get your popcorn. 

“Calvert Hall is a great team. They’ve been great all year with only one loss in the conference,” said Metz. “It’s going to be a grinding game,  and we’re going to have to play … super hard if we want to come out on top.”

“We’re honored…it’s very hard to do,” said Kelly, who has led his alma-mater to its six championships. “We’re going to have our hands full Friday night.”

B & C Conferences

Semifinal games also took place in the B and C conferences on Tuesday.

In the B, the league's two best teams – Saints Peter & Paul and Archbishop Curley – easily advanced to Friday's championship game, which will face-off at 5:30 p.m. at Mustang Stadium, prior to the A Conference final.

Curley, which had won three straight league titles before falling to SSPP, 11-9, in last year's championship game, will be making its seventh consecutive appearance in the B Conference final after a 13-3 win over Gerstell Academy on Tuesday.

Saints Peter & Paul earned the right to defend its crown with a 22-6 rout of Concordia Prep in the other semifinal. The Sabres edged Curley, 12-11 in overtime, in this year's lone meeting between the teams.

The C Conference championship game will feature top-seeded Park and second-seeded Glenelg Country. Park advanced with a tough, 7-5 win over Key School, while GCS roiled past Friends School, 15-3. The two teams will play on Thursday evening at U.S. Lacrosse Stadium in Sparks. The opening face-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

Park won the only regular season meeting between the two teams, 13-6, in mid-April.